Rio is an interesting case for me because I didn’t have a drive to see it, but I was greatly impressed by it overall. At first, it may seem like your typical family-oriented animation, but it can still be entertaining for other audiences as well. Even though the whole story is highly predictable, I would still give the film a passing grade (it is better than Hop and the later Shreks).

The voice actors match with their characters pretty well. I was highly surprised by Anne Hathaway’s performance of Jewel, the love interest in the story, due to her singing. It seems as though Hathaway is trying to get back into the spotlight, considering her big role as Catwoman in Christopher Nolan’s next Batman movie is appearing soon. George Lopez is included obviously just because his voice matches with the atmosphere and location of the film. And Jesse Eisenberg brings his loser quality into his character as he always does.

They are both such geeks

During the first 15 mins, I thought Rio was going to follow a similar pattern as Rango – a pet animal getting separated from its owner and being forced to live in the wild. However, Rio has a much different style, considering it is rated only G. It is surprising how adequately entertaining a G movie can be. Of course, however, none of the characters die in the film, unlike Rango. I felt I was robbed the satisfaction of watching some antagonists be killed for their evil deeds.

Blu Hawk

I am not the only one who is giving Rio a good rating. Reviews everywhere are giving Rio at least a 7 out of 10. And Rio shows some results with making over 370 million worldwide with only a 90 million budget (and the DVD/Blu-ray hasn’t even come out yet). Even though Rio has some cliche jokes and camera angles, it is bright, colorful, and flashy, which allows it to take full advantage of being an animated feature. While the film may not satisfy most adult viewers with its perfect ending, no loose-ties epilogue, kids will definitely enjoy this one.